Driving in Japan: License Conversion, Driving Schools, Shaken, Traffic Law
Converting a foreign license to a Japanese one, the ¥300–400K driving school route, *shaken* and insurance, parking and violation points.
ARTICLE MAPReading Map
Driving in Japan over the long term requires a Japanese driver’s license. An International Driving Permit under the Geneva Convention lets you drive for up to one year from entry, as long as the permit itself is less than a year old; residents who leave briefly and come back do not get a fresh year. Mainland China is not a Geneva party, so a Chinese license alone does not let you drive here. After that, the choice is to convert (gaimen kirikae) or to take the test through a driving school (kyōshūjo), typically ¥300,000–400,000. Either way, once you are on the road, the annual cost stack continues: shaken (vehicle inspection), insurance, taxes, and parking.
Foreign License Conversion: Chinese License to Japanese
Conversion eligibility is stricter than it looks. You must have stayed in the issuing country for at least 3 months in total after getting the license (the months do not have to be consecutive), with entry-and-exit records to prove it. Since October 1, 2025 you also need a jūminhyō showing nationality and residence status, so short-term visitors without a registered address can no longer convert. The “fly out, get the license, fly back” pattern is detected at the test center and refused. Apply at the regional driver’s license test center in your jurisdiction—the three Tokyo test centers are Sameuzu, Fuchū, and Kōtō.
Required documents: original foreign license + Japanese translation (issued by JAF, the Japan Automobile Federation, or the issuing country’s embassy; JAF’s online Japanese translation for converting to a Japanese license is ¥6,600 including consumption tax from 1 July 2026, plus ¥20 per page when printed at a convenience store. The ¥6,000 non-taxable fee remains only when a license from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco, or Taiwan is translated so the holder can drive in Japan; it does not apply to a conversion application), passport (for entry stamp inspection), residence card, jūminhyō, one photograph, and the application form. Fees in Tokyo for an ordinary car license: ¥2,500 application + ¥2,350 issuance.
Three points block Chinese-license applicants most often. First, the Japanese translation of the Chinese license must be in a format accepted by the test center; a general notarized Chinese document is not enough. Second, the “3 months in issuing country” requirement means obtaining entry-exit records from the public security bureau in China. Third, the tekisei kensa (aptitude test: 0.7+ visual acuity, color vision) + knowledge test + on-course driving test. Since October 1, 2025 the knowledge test is 50 written questions with 45 correct needed to pass (it used to be 10 illustrated questions), and the driving test adds checks such as yielding at pedestrian crossings. The driving test has a low pass rate for Chinese-license holders because the test items (on-road S-curve, clutch timing, parking to a precise spot) differ substantially from Chinese road-test routes. Retakes are allowed, and each one means paying the ¥2,500 application fee again.
Sources: Metropolitan Police Department: Converting a Foreign License to a Japanese License, 翻訳文の申請方法, 外国運転免許証の日本語翻訳文発行料金の改定および取扱いについて.
The Driving School Route
Without a foreign license, you choose between commuter-style and gasshuku (residential) schools. Commuter style runs ¥300,000–400,000 over 3–4 months, with evening or weekend slots. Residential runs ¥200,000–300,000 over 2–3 weeks, full-time at a regional school dormitory. Residential is cheaper but the schedule is fixed, and missing a day means extra make-up sessions.
The fee covers classroom lessons, practical lessons (typically 30+ slots), the karimen (provisional license) test, and the graduation exam. Textbooks and photos are separate. The final exam at the test center costs another ¥3,800+. Classroom subjects include traffic regulations, parking rules, emergency response, and basic first aid.
For foreign residents, 5–10 schools in the Tokyo area run Chinese or English programs. Koyama Driving School Futakotamagawa has English-speaking instructors; Futamatagawa Driving School in Kanagawa has long-standing experience with Chinese students; Tōbu Driving School in Saitama offers a Chinese-language residential program. Before signing up, confirm the language of instruction, whether residential meals and lodging are included in the package, and whether emergency-response or gentsuki (50cc moped) modules are charged separately.
License Categories and Renewal
After conversion, know what category you hold and when you renew. Ordinary car licenses split into AT-only (automatic) and MT (manual transmission). Conversion issues a license matching the original vehicle class on the foreign license—Chinese C1 maps to MT, C2 to AT; broadening the category requires an additional practical test at the test center.
Renewal cycles fall into three: gold license (gold border, no accidents or violations for 5 years) renews every 5 years with a 30-minute class and a 5–10% insurance discount; a blue-border license is valid for 5 years for general drivers (minor violations only), but 3 years for drivers with more serious violations and for the first renewal after initial issue. Drivers aged 70 and over get shorter periods. Demerit points stack: 6 points triggers a 30-day suspension, 15 points triggers revocation, and revocation means restarting from the test.
Renewal happens at test centers, designated police stations, or license-renewal centers. Bring the existing license, a photograph, the renewal notice (mailed to the registered address), and a fee of ¥2,500–3,850 depending on the class type. Drivers 70+ take a senior-driver class, and 75+ adds a cognitive function check.
Shaken, Mandatory Liability, Voluntary Insurance
Once you are driving, four annual costs anchor the math: shaken (mandatory vehicle inspection), jibaiseki (mandatory liability insurance), voluntary insurance, and the auto tax. Shaken cycle: 3 years for the first inspection on a new car, every 2 years thereafter; kei (light) cars also every 2 years. A standard car runs ¥80,000–150,000 per shaken (maintenance + statutory fees + inspection + 2 years of jibaiseki included); the maintenance portion varies most.
Jibaiseki is bundled with shaken on a 2-year cycle. For a private passenger car outside remote islands and outside Okinawa, a 24-month policy that starts on or after 1 November 2026 costs ¥18,560. It covers only personal injury to the other party, with caps (¥30 million on death) and no coverage of your own vehicle or the other party’s vehicle. Voluntary insurance fills the gap: unlimited personal injury, property damage, vehicle coverage, and personal accident, priced ¥30,000–200,000 per year depending on age band (under 21 / 26 / 30 / open), grade (1–20, gaining one grade per accident-free year, up to 63% off), vehicle class, use, and policy conditions. First-year converted-license drivers start at grade 6, so premiums are on the higher end.
The auto tax depends on engine displacement: ¥25,000 up to 1.0L, ¥30,500 up to 1.5L, ¥36,000 up to 2.0L (private passenger cars first registered from October 2019), paid every May. The kei-car tax is separate at ¥10,800 per year.
Sources: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism: Vehicle Inspection and Registration, 自賠責保険基準料率表, 第152回・第153回自動車損害賠償責任保険審議会の開催結果について.
Parking, Violations, Day-to-Day Costs
Finally, the day-to-day side. Monthly parking varies sharply by area: ¥30,000–50,000 per month inside Tokyo’s Yamanote loop, ¥20,000–30,000 in Setagaya and Suginami, ¥15,000–20,000 outside the 23 wards, and ¥5,000–10,000 in regional cities. Before buying a car, you must produce a shako shōmei (proof of parking), filed at the police station. In Tokyo the fee is ¥2,400 at the counter or ¥2,300 online, and the certificate usually comes in 3 to 7 days; other prefectures differ.
Common violation tiers: illegal parking ¥10,000–25,000 + 1–2 points; failure to stop ¥7,000–9,000 + 2 points; speeding ¥9,000–35,000 + 1–12 points (30 km/h or more over the limit on an ordinary road, or 40 km/h on an expressway, falls outside the traffic-fine (hansokukin) system and is handled as a criminal case; 50 km/h or more is 12 points and, with no record in the past 3 years, a 90-day suspension, not revocation); running a red light ¥7,000–9,000 + 2 points. Rekkā (tow truck) costs ¥40,000–100,000, with daily storage fees added if the car is held.
Inshu unten (drunk driving) is zero tolerance: the law has two offences. Shuki-obi (driving with alcohol) is breath alcohol of 0.15 to under 0.5 mg/L: under 0.25 means 13 points and a 90-day suspension, and 0.25 to under 0.5 means 25 points and revocation (no new license for 2 years), with up to 3 years’ imprisonment or a fine up to ¥500,000 either way. Sake-yoi (drunk driving) applies at 0.5 mg/L or more, or at any reading when alcohol may leave you unable to drive normally: 35 points, revocation (3 years before you can reapply), and up to 5 years’ imprisonment or a fine up to ¥1,000,000. (Points and suspensions assume no prior record.) Passengers, alcohol providers, and vehicle providers face joint penalties. The ETC (electronic toll system) requires an ETC card and on-board unit, with installation at ¥3,500–15,000; Tokyo to Osaka on a standard car costs about ¥10,000–13,000. For those who would rather not own a car, rental services (Times, Orix, Niconico) and car-share platforms (Times Car, ChocoChoco, Anyca) run ¥6,000–15,000 per day plus distance fees.
Sources: Metropolitan Police Department: penalties for drunk driving, Metropolitan Police Department: about parking certificates, Metropolitan Police Department: parking certificate application at the counter, 行政処分と点数制度, スピード違反に対する処分とは？.
Glossary
- unten menkyo: driver’s license
- gaimen kirikae: foreign-license-to-Japanese-license conversion
- kyōshūjo: driving school
- shaken: mandatory vehicle inspection
- jibaiseki hoken: mandatory liability insurance, third-party personal injury only